Organize an Event Around Your Launch Date

By this point, you will have completed market research, identified a brand identity, built a coming soon page, automated processes for email marketing/micro-blogging, and begun influencer marketing.

Your launch is quickly approaching, so how can you create even more buzz for the big day? One effective way is to organize an in-person event near your launch date.

Invite bloggers, influencers, your local network, and your mailing list ahead of time. Make it a fun party that people are dying to attend! Be bold and ask other vendors to partner with you. A local bakery that just opened might be interesting in catering your event to bring awareness to their brand too. It’s a win-win for everyone who participates.

Get creative with it, like creating a hashtag for people to talk about the event on social media. This is your chance to celebrate all of the hard work you’ve put in over the last several weeks while your audience gets the chance to participate in all the fun too.

Don’t forget about your subscribers who aren’t local—tell them to join in!

Whether you broadcast the event through live stream on Facebook, Periscope, or YouTube Live, these are great tools to engage your audience members who aren’t in the same location and build additional excitement around your launch. You’re a legitimate brand in their eyes now.

Not everyone will be able to make it to your event, but you can still let them in on the party. Spice things up by hosting a contest online for your mailing list.

For instance, you can tell them three or four weeks in advance to enter for a chance to win, then ask them to share it with their friends. Whoever has the most shares is the winner (you can use tools like Gleam.io to help get ideas for setting up your contest). Follow up with an email announcing the winner and include event photos.

Or you can include a personal note about your journey with the event photos. Share your inner thoughts and include the struggles you’ve faced in order to help your customer to connect with you. Don’t be afraid to let your audience get to know you on a deeper level. They’ll love you for being authentic.

Your coming soon page was crucial for the pre-launch. What’s the most important part of your website during the launch? You’ll find out in the next lesson.